#Newsletter
“Legends aren’t defined by their success, they’re defined by how they bounce back from their failures.” — Chris Bosh’s Speech at the 2021 Basketball Hall of Fame Enshrinement 1
“Jumping from failure to failure with undiminished enthusiasm is the big secret to success.” — Savas Dimopoulos
“If you get on the wrong train, get off at the nearest station. The longer it takes you to get off, the more expensive the return trip will be.” — Japanese proverb
Your goal in life should be to reduce the amount of time it takes to get out of a bad state. The ability to bounce back quickly is one of life’s most important skills.
My wife once told me, “When you’re five, you can be mad for a day. When you’re ten, you can be mad for an hour. By the time you’re thirty, you get ten minutes—and then you have to move on.”
Life is full of frustration and disappointment. Real maturity isn’t eliminating bad moments—it’s shrinking the time they have power over you.
Becoming less reactive doesn’t mean nothing bothers you; it means you’ve trained yourself to recognize when you’re in a bad state and pull yourself out of it faster.
Footnotes
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這段著名的往事發生在 2008 年北京奧運期間，當時全美頂尖球星集結組成「救贖之隊」（Redeem Team）。這支球隊的成立背景，源於美國男籃在國際賽場經歷的一系列挫敗，包括 2002 年世錦賽僅獲第六名、2004 年雅典奧運準決賽敗給阿根廷僅得銅牌，以及 2006 年世錦賽再次失利。為了奪回金牌並重塑美國籃球的威信，美國籃協任命 Jerry Colangelo 為總監，並由杜克大學傳奇教練 K 教頭（Coach K）掌舵，要求球員長期磨合以建立團隊精神。Chris Bosh 回憶道，當時年僅 24 歲的他充滿鬥志，一心想在這些前輩面前展現競爭心，於是給自己設定了一個目標：每天都要成為第一個出現在早餐廳的人。為了達成目標，他特地在日出前就設好鬧鐘起床，換上全套運動裝備準備下樓。然而，當 Bosh 到達現場時，眼前的景象卻讓他徹底震撼。Kobe Bryant 早已坐在那裡，雙腿裹著冰袋，全身被汗水濕透。Bosh 花了一段時間才意識到，Kobe 並非只是早起吃早餐，而是已經獨自完成了一場高強度的個人訓練。最令 Bosh 感到不可思議的是，Kobe 在幾天前才剛在 NBA 總決賽中輸球，身體理應處於極度疲勞期；相比之下，Bosh 所在的球隊早已休賽數月，他理應體力充沛，卻依然被 Kobe 的意志力拉開了差距。這次經歷讓 Bosh 深刻體悟到「曼巴精神」的真諦：傳奇的定義不在於擁有多少成功，而是在於跌落谷底後，如何以更強大的姿態反彈與努力。 ↩